from British Medical Journal
Preventing tooth decay in children usually focuses on sugar restriction and fluoride treatments, but Japanese researchers writing in the British Medical Journal suggest there may also be an association between secondhand smoke and tooth decay in children. Looking at data from more than seventy-five thousand children, they found exposure to secondhand smoke at four months of age was associated with about twice the risk of dental cavities as children not exposed to secondhand smoke. The authors acknowledge their study does not explain how secondhand smoke contributes to or causes tooth decay in young children, but say it supports extending public health and clinical interventions to reduce secondhand smoke.